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NSW awarded 20 grants to help save state’s heritage

NSW awarded 20 grants to help save state’s heritage

10 November 2010

Twenty NSW groups will receive grants to help preserve the state’s heritage following the announcement of the 2010 Community Heritage Grants.

The successful and popular program is providing grants worth $101,980 to 20 community groups and organisations around the state in 2010. The groups include museums, libraries, historical societies, scouting and religious organisations. Each will receive funds to assist in the preservation of community-owned but nationally significant heritage collections.

Highlights include $11,800 to Royal Far West for archival storage materials and equipment for the collection; Adaminaby Snowy Scheme Collection received $4,400 for a significance assessment; the Oaks Historical Society Inc received $5,676 for digitisation of the Yerranderie-Burragorang Scrolls; and $6,800 to the Museum of Fire for archival shelving for the collection.

Recipients attend a three-day intensive preservation and collection management workshop held at the National Library, the National Archives of Australia, the National Museum of Australian and the National Film and Sound Archive.

National Library Acting Director-General Warwick Cathro said the Community Heritage Grants program showed the commitment by the National Library, along with its partner institutions and the Federal Government, to encourage and assist communities to care for the nation’s heritage, whether held in capital cities, regional centres or remote areas.

“These grants are a reminder that if we don’t preserve our history now, it could be lost forever,” he said.

“The national collecting institutions that support this program are delighted that practical assistance is being provided to communities to ensure that their local heritage collections are still there for future generations.”

The Community Heritage Grants Program is managed by the National Library. It is funded by the Australian Government through the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Office for the Arts; the National Archives of Australia; the National Film and Sound Archive; the National Museum of Australia and the National Library.

NEW SOUTH WALES

1st Mosman 1908 Scout Group received $4,400 for a preservation needs assessment of the collection. The collection reflects the activity of the first scout group in Australia. It contains log and minute books, scrapbooks and diaries and the personal journals and photographs of Keith Rowe who attended key events such as the first Australian corroboree in 1922 and the Great Imperial Jamboree of 1924.

Adaminaby Snowy Scheme Collection received $4,000 for a significance assessment of the collection. The collection comprises vehicles, engineering equipment, tools, photographs, memorabilia and oral histories relating to the construction of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme.

Australian Country Music Foundation received $5,000 for digitisation of its still image collection. This will enable the purchase of equipment such as a scanner and computer. The collection of images in the Graeme O’Neil collection focuses on Australian Country Music events, particularly ‘talent quests’ around the country.

Australian Tennis Museum received $4,000 for a preservation needs assessment of the collection. This nationally significant collection includes tennis equipment, clothing, memorabilia, trophies and souvenirs reflecting the history of the sport nationally and internationally.

Fort Scratchley Historical Society received $4,000 for a significance assessment of the collection. The collection includes uniforms, vehicles, maps and plans that document the history of the site, originally set up as a defence site for Newcastle and its port in the 1800s.

Lockhart and District Historical Society received $5,400 for archival materials and a preventative conservation training course. The collection includes the nationally significant Brookong Collection of photographs, maps and artefacts associated with the Brooking Station and the 1888 shearers’ strike.

Moruya and District Historical Society Inc received $4,675 to conduct a significance assessment of the collection. The collection comprises approximately 6,000 items reflecting the history of the region, in particular the region’s contribution to the building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the development of the cheese industry in Australia.

Mount Kembla Mining Heritage Inc received $8,822 for a significance assessment of the collection and to conduct a Collections Management workshop. The collection of mining history includes items such as documents relating to a Royal Commission into the mining disaster of 1902, a stretcher used to remove injured miners at the time and tools and equipment used in the recovery.

National Art School received $6,500 for cleaning and rehousing the Student Collection of works on paper. This nationally significant collection dates from 1914 and is representative of the early student work of significant Australian artists such as Brett Whitely and James Gleeson. The collection provides excellent insight into the history and artistic climate of the National Art School and with the New South Wales arts community.

Parramatta and District Historical Society received $2,255 for a Disaster Preparedness Plan and Disaster Bin. The society’s museum Hamledon Cottage houses the collection of antique furniture, photographs and pictures including the desk and chair of significant colonial, Rev Samuel Marsden.

Port Macquarie Historical Society Inc received $5,500 for a preservation needs assessment of the collection. Objects of significance in the collection include an Indigenous heliman shield, a bible used on convict ships, photographs of traditional Aboriginal life and objects relating to the decades leading to Federation and to Sir Edmund Barton.

Scone and Upper Hunter Historical Society Inc received $5,060 for a significance assessment of the collection. The collection reflects the history of the region dating back to the 1820s and includes artefacts and archives recording early settlement.

Royal Far West received $11,800 for archival storage materials and equipment for the collection. The collection has national significance as it represents the story of the unique Far West Scheme and includes archives, photographs, ephemera and artefacts.

The Oaks Historical Society Inc received $5,676 to digitise the Yerranderie-Burragorang Scrolls (and their index). The 168 handwritten scrolls average four metres in length and were created by a local artist/ historian. The scrolls document and illustrate the history and activity of the region from the early Aboriginal people to significant Australian leaders.

Sturt Craft Centre (Winifred West Schools) received $4,000 for a significance assessment of the collection. The collection comprises post-war and contemporary craft objects made by significant Australian artists while at the Centre. The artworks in the collection include ceramics, metalwork, textiles and wood objects.

The Performance Space received $4,000 for a significance assessment of the collection. The collection includes the organisation’s archival records and a record of events presented, including the audiovisual record of performances. Photographs, video and audio tapes of early performances reflect the history and development of the organisation.

The Museum of Fire Inc received $6,800 for archival storage equipment. The collection’s fire-fighting equipment, memorabilia, uniforms, photographs and personal records document the history of firefighting in New South Wales. The project will assist the organisation to preserve and store the collection.

The Scout Association of Australia NSW Branch received $5,400 for a preservation needs assessment of the collection and preservation training. The collection contains artefacts dating back to the foundation of Scouting in Australia in 1908, including uniforms, flags, plaques, banners, photographs, film reels, audio tapes and glass negatives from the early 1900s. Significant collection items include a Changi Rover Scout Scarf from World War II; a trophy shield presented by Dr J.J. Bradfield, chief engineer of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, in 1932 and a photograph album from the 1920s which includes some photographs of Scouts taken with Australian artist Norman Lindsay in the grounds of his Faulconbridge estate.

Trustees of the Sisters of Mercy, Diocese of Lismore received $4,000 for a significance assessment of the collection. The collection is an archive documenting the lives and activities of over 250 Sisters of Mercy in the Grafton region over 126 years and includes letters, artefacts, photographs and audio visual tapes.

Willoughby City Council received $4,000 for a significance assessment of the Local Studies collection. The collection includes archival records, personal papers, oral history recordings, artworks and maps. Significant items include domestic and industrial architectural plans by Walter Burley Griffin for buildings in the Willoughby/Castlecrag area.